I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic counters. More particularly, the present invention relates to electronic counters that are implemented using memory devices or cells that wear out after extended use. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a novel electronic counter that prolongs the useful life of memory cells used for implementing the counter.
II. Description of the Related Art
Non-volatile memory devices, such as EEPROMs, have memory cells that wear out. When cells in such non-volatile memory devices are used for implementing a typical counter that is written to continuously, the memory cells representing the least significant bits of the counter will be written to most often and will often wear out quickly as result of such use. As the memory cells wear out, new storage locations must be allocated to hold the counter. Since in many electronic devices the amount of available non-volatile memory cells is limited, allocation of additional memory cells to a counter in order to compensate for worn-out cells is undesirable. In view of this, it would be advantageous to provide a counter that could be implemented in non-volatile memory and that minimized the wear on the memory cells used for the counter.